Warning to dog owners after pet dies from eating jerky treats

Ben Green

A dog owner has made a plea to warn others as her beloved pet died yesterday after eating jerky treats.

The seven-year-old Yorkshire Terrier called Molly was the much-loved pet who faced kidney failure after eating jerky treats which her owners now believe have been imported from China.

Her owner wants to warn others about these treats in the hope they will be spared from this devastation.

Since 2007 problems with dried jerky treats, duck and chicken in particular, have caused problems in Australia and the US.

Janice Smith, Molly’s owner, stumbled across a post on Facebook about dog treats poisoning and killing a lady’s two dogs.

The different treats, which are said to have cause this illness, include duck jerky, chicken jerk strips and sweet potato wrapped in chicken.

Janice said: “I was shocked because I was giving my dog the same kind. It said the dog suffers from sickness and diarrhoea then kidney failure.

“I immediately stopped her eating them and went to see our local vet because Molly had sickness. After numerous tests it was confirmed that Molly had been poisoned too and her kidneys were failing.”

Molly was taken to the vets on Friday March 25 and spent almost two weeks at the vets from 9am until 5.30pm hooked to an IV drip.

Sadly yesterday morning, Molly was put to sleep. She kept losing weight and was unable to eat or drink and the sickness and diarrhoea returned. Janice said they are devastated but the poor little thing was in so much pain.

In February the Animal Health Trust issued a warning for dog owners to be aware that some imported jerky treats may cause kidney disfunction.

It says that vets across the country have reported seeing an increased number of dogs with kidney problems which may be linked to the ingestion of imported dried jerky treats.

Joao Alves, the vet who treated Molly at Companion Care Vets, in Scarborough, said: “When a dog that is on a certain food is healthy and a week after starting the treats develops these symptoms. It is a strong correlation - that’s all we can say.”